Somewhere
by Anduria Trianys
Summary: Song-fic to the song 'Somewhere' from West Side Story. There's a threat to the world and someone is trying to stop it, but will he succeed? Pairings include Jack/Ianto and not-so subtle hints of Owen/Tosh. SPOILERS up to 2x09. Going for T-rating to be saf


This one came to me after listening to the 'West Side Story' soundtrack repeatedly - or, more specifically, to 'Somewhere' itself. I listened to it and thought 'Hey, this'd be good for a 'the-world-is-about-to-end' fic'. Well, the world's not about to end, _per se, _but Cardiff is!

Torchwood...nope, not mine. Neither's West Side Story, sigh.

I'll say spoilers up to Ep. 9 of Series 2, just to be safe. 

Oh, by the way - if anyone's got a better explanation of Owen's current state in the series, let me know, because I'm still not entirely clear on that; my science knowledge is terrible! 

**Pairings: **Jack/Ianto, not exactly subtle hints of Owen/Tosh

**Somewhere**

The Hub was crumbling around him. Lumps of stone were literally cracking the floor into shards and reducing the computers to dust. Sparks were flying as bits of the room fell over the cables, knocking them out and sending them into the water-tower. He choked back a sob as their pet, the faithful pterodactyl, was knocked from her perch by a boulder which instantly broke her neck and wings, rendering her broken body flightless.

Still struggling with the limp body of his colleague, her glasses broken on her blood-covered face and her chest crushed hopelessly on top of his shoulders. She was a small woman, but lifting her now was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He threw the heavy coat on his other arm over her; even in death, he could keep her warm.

A weak noise drew him towards the ruins of what until then had been a fully functioning autopsy bay. Glancing down, he could see a face in the rubble and he heard a hoarse voice calling. He didn't pause to think; he jumped over the railings and ran to him.

"Owen!" he cried. "Owen, it's me. Come on, we're going to get you out –"

"No." The word was almost unheard, but not quite. "Ianto…it's too late." His eyes flickered to the burden on the other man's shoulders. "Is…is that –?"

"Yes," gasped Ianto. "I tried, but it was too late. The stones fell and crushed her before I could get close enough to her to rescue her. I'm sorry; I'm so sorry."

"Rest her next to me," ordered the young medic and then gasped when he saw her body. "Oh, Tosh," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." He would have cried if he could. "We'll be together again soon, darling." He smiled weakly at Ianto. "The world's really ending?"

Ianto glared. "Owen, don't you _dare_ say what I think you're going to say. The Hub is falling to pieces, the team practically _has _fallen to pieces and I've got to get you out. Now is NOT the time to suggest an end-of-the-world orgy, not that you could do–" 

"I wasn't going to," interrupted Owen. "What's the good of doing that if I can't participate in it?" He coughed again, but stopped Ianto as he tried to move some of the rubble burying him. "Go," he whispered. "Please, just go. Leave me now." 

Ianto shook his head. "You can't give up. I won't let you."

Owen snorted. "Don't you understand, Ianto? The energy from the mitten's practically run out. Those readings I gave you and Jack were faked because I didn't want you to think I was on my last legs." He smiled humourlessly. "I am now. I'm dying for real, Ianto. Just go…make sure you're all safe…make sure Gwen's safe…just go."

"No!" Ianto glared at the man who had become his brother in all but blood. "I'm not going –" but Owen's eyes had already closed for the last time. "Owen?" he whispered, shaking him slightly. "Owen?" He shook him again, but deep down, he knew that it was no good. Owen Harper, the man who had beaten death before, was gone. 

Shoulders sagging in defeat, he entwined the medic's hands with Tosh's and climbed to his feet, his own hands brushing the soft fabric of Jack's coat. His stomach turned cold. Gwen had left, Tosh and Owen were dead. But there was no sign of –

"Jack!" he screamed suddenly, racing back up the stairs. "Jack, where are you?" He couldn't look on the CCTV, because it wasn't there now. He tried his com, but it wasn't working. "Jack!" he shouted again. "Jack, if you can hear me, please answer –"

"Ianto!" The young man turned sharply to find his extremely pale partner running towards him. Without a word, he grabbed Jack's hand and half-dragged him onto the lift. He watched in horror as the windows of Jack's office smashed and the whole floor crashed down moments later. For a moment, he remembered Owen and Tosh and realised how ironic it was that they should lie there; the place where they had practically lived, worked, rowed and, eventually, fallen in love. Torchwood had been their life. 

Once they were outside, he pulled Jack close to him for a moment, as if checking that he was still alive. There was a heartbeat, but it was faint and the pallor in his face made Ianto wonder if he hadn't already died once. He didn't stop to ask, though; he just grabbed Jack's hand again and dragged him to his house where he sat him down and helped him back into his heavy coat. If he had died then he should at least be warm. 

"What's going on?" asked Jack eventually. "I thought I told you to get out of –"

"Gwen did leave and I was going to follow," explained Ianto. "Jack –"

"Cardiff and everything in a two hundred mile radius is about to be blown to hell – literally," answered Jack weakly. "I didn't tell you, because I didn't want to frighten you; I just wanted you safe. You were supposed to go while I tried to sort it out. But by the time I realised what was happening, it was too late. I've delayed it, but I can't stop it. In a few hours, all of this will be gone. The destruction of the Hub was only the start." He looked hard at Ianto. "So, why exactly didn't you leave when I told you to?"

Ianto bit back the retort that Jack should have told him the truth. Instead he said, "I was about to follow Gwen, but then I saw Tosh and," his voice broke, "I realised that I couldn't leave you. I couldn't save her or Owen, but at that moment I knew that there was absolutely no way I was going to leave you behind, immortal or not." 

"What do you mean, you couldn't save Owen or Tosh?" asked Jack. "Owen –"

"Technically already _was_ dead, I know, but…Jack, the readings he gave us were fakes! He told me when I found him buried in the autopsy bay. The energy ran out shortly afterwards." His knees started to shake and he collapsed beside Jack. "I left Tosh at his side as he died," he murmured. "She was already dead; there was nothing I could do."

"You could have just left like I told you to," said Jack. "I would have been fine."

"Leave you while everything fell apart?" Ianto laughed. "No, Jack, I couldn't. I told you that when I saw Tosh dead and when Owen died, I knew I had to save you." His voice broke again and his eyes began to sting. "We're the last two left now, Jack. Gwen's gone back to Rhys and they're leaving Cardiff. She's taken some Retcon with her too." 

"But why did you do it?" asked Jack. "Why did you wait when I would have come for you anyway?" He frowned as Ianto stared at his hands. "Dammit, Ianto, I can't die! I don't want you risking your life for me, because you know I'm not worth that!"

Ianto burst into tears. "Don't say that!" he shouted, grabbing hold of Jack's braces and shaking him hard. "You don't get it, Jack; just because you can't stay dead now, it doesn't mean that it'll always work that way! You know, one day you might say that, but then your entire life force, or whatever it is, will be sucked out of you!" He stopped hitting him, but didn't let go. "Don't you remember Abaddon, Jack? I thought you were gone for good after that; I can't risk that again, I _won't _risk it again. Jack, I can't lose you and I would die to make sure I didn't lose you, so don't you _dare_ say you're not worth it, because you are to me!" The last words came out as a scream before Ianto finally collapsed, sobbing harder and harder. "You are worth it…you are…" Jack wrapped his arms around him and held him close, rocking him back and forth gently.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Ianto, I just," he shook his head. "Ah, it doesn't matter now. It's over and we're together and we will be safe together."

"No!" cried Ianto. "Don't you see, Jack? It's not us that's the problem; it's everything that's going on around us! It's everything out there – it's Torchwood!"

He looked around the room. "It's already taken…Tosh and Owen," he sobbed. "I won't let it take you as well. I can't…not after it took Lisa too…"

"Then we'll go away," said Jack immediately. "We'll get away from Torchwood for ever and go somewhere else; we'll go and find somewhere where we can have a peaceful life, somewhere they won't find us; maybe a different planet, maybe a different galaxy – heck, maybe we'll even go a different time. We'll all leave this behind." 

He pulled his lover close again and absently fiddled with the remote control beside him, which worked the radio. The song filtered gently through the room, only broken by Ianto's choked sobs. After a second, Jack began to sing as well.

"_There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us._

_Peace and quiet and open air wait for us, somewhere."_

"It will happen," he told himself, remembering the story. "It almost happened for Tony and Maria, but it will definitely happen for us." He turned the radio off again and started to sit back, only to freeze when he heard a familiar voice. He saw Ianto's tear-stained face watching him as he started to sing, his breath hitching on some of the words. 

"_There's a time for us, someday a time for us._

_Time together with time to spare; time to look, time to care, someday…"_

"Somewhere," whispered Jack as he stroked his hair. "We'll find a new way of living." _I promise, Ianto. I don't know how we'll do it, when or where, but we will._

"We'll find a way of forgiving, somewhere," stammered Ianto, casting his eyes down as he suddenly remembered, with a throb of guilt, his anger after what happened with Lisa. _I forgave you a long time ago, Jack. Now, you have to forgive yourself. _

Jack, who was also crying, scooped the younger man up and drew him towards the window where they watched the shadow drawing over Cardiff. This time, they clasped hands as the words seemed to surround them as they seemed to glide through the silent air, this time neither of them making any effort to hide their tears.

"_There's a place for us, a time and place for us._

_Hold my hand and we're halfway there; hold my hand and I'll take you there._

_Somehow… someday… somewhere…"_

Finally, Jack drew him into his arms and kissed him softly for a while, comforting him and loving him, until he managed to look out of the window again. 

"Hey," he whispered, passing over the little white handkerchief he always carried with him. "We'd better get going while we still have the chance. Come on." 

"Okay," Ianto pulled back and dried his eyes as well as he could. "How much time do we have?" he asked as he hastily changed into jeans and a thick sweater.

Jack checked his watch. "Before it reaches us here, ten minutes tops," he said. "Don't worry about clothes, just grab your wallet and your gun and let's go." 

Once they were in the car – not the SUV as it was too conspicuous – and had been driving for about half an hour, Ianto finally decided to ask where they were going to go.

"I don't know," admitted Jack, slowing slightly. "For now, we just keep driving and try to keep ahead of this thing. Once we're completely out of the range of this thing, then we'll see." He squeezed Ianto's hand once more before he accelerated again.

Ianto gazed out of the back window at the destruction following them. Soon, there wouldn't be anything left over; the black shadow was swallowing everything in its path.

After driving for several hours, Jack stopped for petrol. "I don't know how much further we have to go," he said when he returned. "I don't even know where we are." 

Ianto felt tears welling in his eyes again. "Jack," he moaned.

Jack was instantly beside him. "What is it?" he asked, stroking his face.

"I'm scared, Jack," he breathed. "That thing…it's like what Suzie said; it's moving in the dark…I can feel it swallowing me." He shivered. "What's happening?"

Jack looked up and swore. "We're not out of the radius yet," he growled. "I thought we'd left it behind, but it's growing in speed. There's only ten miles left, though, and then we're safe. But it's starting to affect you already." _And me,_ he mentally added, but Ianto didn't need to know that; he was frightened enough. "Just relax, okay?"

"Jack," gasped Ianto. "I can't…I don't…taking me…"

Jack swore again, realising that he was really fading now. With what felt like the last ounce of strength in his body, he slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped into the night, praying that they would both hold on long enough to get free. He managed to keep up a steady stream of chatter to keep Ianto engaged, often urging him to stay awake. 

It seemed like forever, but eventually they reached the end of the danger zone. Jack did, however, drive on for another ten miles, just to be safe, and he carried Ianto to the field he had driven into and set him down beneath a rock, wrapping him in his coat. 

"It's okay," he whispered, "we're out of the range now. It won't reach us here."

Ianto blinked. "Jack?" he asked. "It was you…I felt myself slipping; I thought I was dying, but…something brought me…your voice," he started to cry softly, "you…"

Jack pulled him into his arms and kissed his forehead. "It's okay," he said, clasping his hands and sighing with relief when he found them warming. "It's all right now." Ianto was shaking badly now and stroking his hair as he cried quietly. "Shh," whispered Jack, "it's all right now, _cariad_, it's all right. We're safe now, we're safe."

As he cradled the younger man in his lap, he remembered the words of the song. There was a place for them, there had to be a place for them, somewhere…somewhere.

Now, he just had to find out where it was. 

And, for those of you who are interested, here are the lyrics:

_There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us._

_Peace and quiet and open air wait for us, somewhere._

_There's a time for us, someday a time for us._

_Time together with time to spare; time to look, time to care, someday…_

_Somewhere…we'll find a new way of living._

_We'll find a way of forgiving, somewhere._

_There's a place for us, a time and place for us._

_Hold my hand and we're halfway there; hold my hand and I'll take you there._

_Somehow…someday…somewhere…_

– Somewhere, from the musical _West Side Story _


End file.
